One Fair Wage guides tipped workers toward higher pay and protections

One Fair Wage operates as a central hub for restaurant and service workers seeking to understand and change tipping and wage rules. The organization focuses on eliminating the subminimum tipped wage and raising pay and protections for servers, bartenders, and other tipped employees, and it publishes practical materials aimed at helping workers act on that goal.

The site offers clear explanations of how tipping and the tipped minimum work in different jurisdictions, state-by-state campaign pages that track local efforts and ballot initiatives, and worker-facing guides on reporting wage theft and organizing. State pages include campaigns and policy updates for places such as Washington, D.C., alongside other ongoing state and local efforts to extend One Fair Wage protections. The archive of press and research documents captures the long-running debates over tipping policy, ballot campaigns, legislative wins, and policy proposals affecting tipped workers.

For restaurant employees, the value is both informational and tactical. Front-of-house staff can learn where tip credits apply, what employers may legally deduct, and the procedural steps for filing complaints when pay falls short. Back-of-house employees who don’t receive tips directly can use campaign materials to understand how tipped wage policy affects overall labor markets and efforts to pursue equitable pay. Guides on organizing outline practical steps for workers wanting to join campaigns to raise wages or push changes at the ballot box and in state legislatures.

The material also serves as a record of the movement behind tipped-wage reform. Press and research archives document that change is pursued through multiple channels: grassroots worker organizing, ballot measures, and legislative proposals that have produced wins in some jurisdictions and continue to face debate in others. That history helps workers evaluate tactics and anticipate employer responses, including the persistence of wage-theft complaints in overserved markets.

Check the site’s state-by-state pages to see active campaigns in your area, review the step-by-step guides on reporting wage theft, and consider joining local organizing efforts if you want to push for higher base pay. For many restaurant workers, One Fair Wage functions as both a how-to manual and a map of where policy fights are happening next.